Five simple things you're wasting money on every day.

I have a friend – let’s call her Gabby – who is exceptionally bad with money.

She was out shopping one day, and she literally did not have the $15 she needed to pay for her parking. It turned into a big drama, which ultimately ended with her being banned from parking her car at the shopping centre ever again by security.

As she was telling me this story, I could feel myself getting panicked. How does something like that even happen?

I then sat down with her and practically forced her to tell me how much she spends each day and what she spends it on, and then I came up with a financial plan for her to follow.

It turned out she was spending over three quarters more than what she earned each month on things that were completely unnecessary.

That’s an extreme case, but the reality is we can all be a little bit more mindful of where our money is going on a day-to-day basis. All of those little extras add up.

“Too many adults do not have an accurate view of their income and expenses,” financial advisor Bily Xiao told Forbes.

“But if you measure it, you can improve it. So start tracking, take stock of how much you’re saving, identify low-hanging fruit of expenses you can cut, and start setting some incremental goals to increase your saving.”

Here are five of the biggest things you’re wasting your money on every day…

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The Quicky

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If you spend around $15 to $20 a day on lunch, by the end of the week, that’s about $100 gone.

It may take a little bit more time and planning, but try to set aside a few minutes every day when you get home from work to prep your lunch for the next day. And throw in a few snacks too if you’re a grazer.

Make buying your lunch something you do only on Fridays as a special treat for making it through another week at work.